Goodbye Seniors

Today marked the final day of high school for seniors.  If you haven’t seen the Senior “Waving” video on social media, I’d encourage you to check it out.  Just over 75% of “my” seniors participated and I cannot even begin to tell you how happy it made my heart to see each of them smiling and waving!

Since I didn’t get to say goodbye to my seniors as they left the building for the final time today, I hope you will allow me to use this blog as a way to share a few of my thoughts with my seniors.

The spring always brings a mix of emotions for seniors as you prepare to close one chapter of your life and begin the next.  This spring has been more challenging than ever as your world was turned upside down by the global pandemic.  I know you are grieving the lost time of being together, enjoying your routines, and being able to say goodbye and transition out of Kilbourne in the way you had imagined.  You and your parents both are sharing in the sadness and disappointment that this is definitely NOT the way you had planned or imagined high school would end. 

I have had a lot of time to think about you as individuals and as a whole class.  And here is what stands out to me the most… you have proven that you are flexible, adaptable and resilient!  Those three skills are essential to living a successful life and you have found ways to cultivate all 3 over the last two months. 

Like most of you, I wish we could have had one more day at Kilbourne together.   Looking back, I wish I would have realized that when you were walking out on March 13^th that this needed to be my good-bye moment.  But that is how life works so much of the time… we realize things were important when it is too late and the opportunities have passed us by.  This reminds me that I should not take ANY of these moments for granted because we never know what tomorrow holds.  So even though this is not the final day of high school experience you had imagined, I hope, that as you reflect back on your years in Worthington, that you will treasure ALL of the memories (positive and not-so-positive) you created – including the less than ideal stay-at-home moments. 

Ever since you entered your first classroom as a Kindergartener, you have worked hard to get to today and you deserve to be proud of your accomplishment!  I hope you will remember that it’s not the classrooms, the hallways, the gym, the commons, or the stadium which defined your memories or your experiences.  They were just the places where you were able to learn, grow, contribute, lead, share, perform and compete.  The friendships, teachers, sports, performances, and yes, even pandemics that gave you added time with your family – those are your memories and experiences and those will be with you forever.

You have brightened my life over the last 4 years and now it’s time for you to go and share your light with the world.   As you leave Kilbourne to attend college, begin basic training, or start your career, I hope you know that I will be cheering you on every step of the way!  Congratulations Class of 2020!  I’m proud of you and wish you the very best in the future!

AP Exams

This week kicks off AP exams... but it will be different than ever before!  With the coronavirus, all students taking AP tests this year will test at home with just a short, 45 minute, exam.  All tests will be free response questions (not multiple choice).  Even though it is different, the reality is, you are prepared for this and you will do great!

Over the next 2 weeks, students will test based upon when their exam is scheduled.  I am confident your teachers have been communicating this information, but if you need it, here is the updated exam schedule.  You will test at 12, 2, or 4 depending on when your designated exam is offered... which I think will also work to your advantage since most of you are easily able to be awake and functioning by noon.

Good luck and I can't wait to hear how it went after you have finished!

It's the little things

This past week was Teacher Appreciation Week and even though I am not a teacher, I benefitted from so many acts of kindness this week.  But I have to say, it was the little things that meant the most to me!

- I had a student send me an email just to say hi and that he was thinking of me during teacher appreciation week.  (Seriously, that was really sweet!)

- I had a few students who have been having a difficult time emotionally reach out and share what is happening for them in their lives.  This is a big deal to me - yes, it is my job, but it takes such courage for a student to do that - especially when we aren't face to face in the building together.  And I genuinely appreciated that we were able to be present with each other during these tough days.

- I had colleagues share about successes of students who have been struggling academically and persevered to achieve their goals in classes.

- I got to see the smiling faces of some of my students in the "WKHS Thank You Teachers" video... oh, how I miss seeing you all!

- I got to share in the excitement of some of the seniors who are looking forward to the in-person, drive-through graduation experience that was announced this week.

- I have continued to receive email messages with update on how you are spending your time during this stay at home experience.  (I have been working on sending each of you an individual email to check in and I have sent one to all of my seniors, juniors, and sophomores and am 2/3 of the way through my freshmen... freshmen, sorry, don't give up on me if you haven't heard from me yet an email will be coming soon.)  I love hearing about all the fun, boring, or crazy things you have been doing while stuck at home!

- I got to see some of the seniors waving video clips and they made me smile and laugh.  I loved them!  I can't wait to see all of them.  And, by the way, if you are a senior (or the parent of a senior) and you haven't done the waving video yet PLEASE do it NOW!!!  Send it to Mrs. Backhurst - I want all of my seniors included in the video!  It is something I will be able to keep and have as a precious memory of you and your class.

So, even though it may have been teacher appreciation week, I want you to know that I appreciate you!  I can say with 100% certainty that you, my students, matter to me!  You brighten my life and I am so thankful that I have the honor of working with you.  I miss you far more than you can imagine and I love every opportunity that I have to see you, hear from you, or talk to you!  Thank you for touching my life in such a big way.  I hope to see you soon!

Summer School

Summer school is going to look different this year.  With everything happening with the Coronavirus, the academic options this summer are going to be a little bit different.

For starters, if you are in a class this semester that you do not earn a "P" grade in and you end up with an "I" (Incomplete) then you will spend part of your summer working on those classes to be able to finish the course requirements to pass the class. This plan will be something you, your parents and your teacher will develop.  I can't stress enough how much you want to get to the "P" grade so that you don't have this hanging over your head to continue working on regularly throughout the summer.

However, if you are doing well in all of your classes with remote learning and you are managing this format of education well, then summer school may be an ideal option for you to make up credit for any classes you had failed during the first semester.  You need to register NOW for summer school!

Worthington offers summer school opportunities each year with a wide range of opportunities to try to meet your academic goals.  If you failed a class during 1st semester or in a past year and will be taking it for credit recovery your summer school class will be free of charge.  Due to the Coronavirus, all summer school classes will be completed remotely.  Students will be expected to log on 2 hours a day (either 10-12 or 1-3) and work on their work with the remote support of the summer school teachers.  Summer school will run from June 1st to July 17th.  For all Worthington Summer School Credit Recovery related information and to register online, please visit the district website at:  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BjSsBG9uHV8xmDEMiBgvCYo4N2kuYG5O-SCGWtfl9qk/edit

There are also a limited number of seats available for get-ahead courses in Blended Math 1 and Blended Math 2 that are also offered through Worthington summer school and information about those classes and the costs associated with those courses are on the website.  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oKSGQiq5rkAqONxFhU_4ojHUrkPS3seLFMvoz5I8ly8/edit

We always get questions about taking online courses or classes in other districts and as long as it is an accredited school this is completely fine.  So, for example, if your parents are divorced and you go to spend the summer with a parent who lives in another state you can take your summer school class at the school near your other parent and then transfer the credit back to us.  Or for those students who hope to be able to resume traveling over the summer, taking an online course might be more in line with your needs.  Again, in Worthington we try to be very flexible in helping all students to meet their academic goals so as long as the school you are taking classes from is an accredited school, we will transfer those credits to Worthington.

Students and parents often ask me which online schools they can use and again, if it is accredited it is fine.  I would say that the school we have probably had the most students utilize in the past has been TRECA due to the cost effectiveness of their credits.  But again, that can change from year to year and so I encourage you to search for the schools and programs that will best meet your individual needs.  TRECA summer school registration has opened so if you were planning to take a TRECA summer school class, please be sure to get signed up for that soon too.  Their website is: https://treca.org/programs/summer-school

Please, if you have failed a class during the 1st semester, get signed up for summer school so that you can stay on track for graduation with your class!  Deadline to enroll is Friday!

CC+ Updates

I made a conscious decision to cut back on how frequently I am posting blog updates.  I have had so many students tell me that they are overwhelmed by all the emails they have to keep up with and I feel the same way with all of the random messages I am getting from people.  Plus, I typically blog about the questions that kids are walking into my office asking me about and... well, that isn't happening now. 

However, today I have a large number of emails in my inbox related to questions about CC+ and so we need to touch base about some of that briefly.

COTC Next Year:
- If you have signed up for a Math CC+ class, then you should have received an email from Mrs. Gratz or Mrs. Mann to tell you that you need to fill out the COTC registration card.  There are instructrions that come with the card. 
- When you are filling out the form, refer to the instructions.  But, the question most kids are asking is what term, and the answer is 20AU.
- Be sure to mark the box that says you authorize us to release your transcript - that is a requirement to be able to enroll in a CC+ class with COTC.
- You will also have to list which class you will be taking.  If you are taking PreCalculus, please list Math 150.  If you are taking the Calc AB version, please list Math 200.  If you are taking the Calc BC version, please list Math 200 and Math 210.  You can check the add box, list your course name, and leave the rest of the chart blank.
- Copies of both the card and the instructions are on the Counselor Website on the front page in the CC+ section.


College Credit Plus Transcripts:
If you are a senior who needs to send your CC+ transcripts on to the college that you will be attending in the fall, please be sure to follow the directions and use the links on the Counselor Website to request your transcript.  You will likely be asked if you want to hold the transcript until grades are posted and your answer to that is YES!


CSCC Next Year:
- If you are taking classes to be taught by a CSCC professor (Comp, Psych, Soc, Gov, Ethics), then you will need to make sure you have completed the CSCC Registration consent form and that it lists your Cougar ID number.
- Your cougar ID number would have been emailed back to you 48-72 hours after you applied to CSCC. 
- This form needs to be returned to Mrs. Mann (emann@wscloud.org) or to Mrs. Gratz (agratz@wscloud.org) either by scanning and sending it to them or taking a photo of the form and emailing the picture to them.

Then, if you are planning on taking classes ON CAMPUS at CSCC next fall, I also have important updates to share with you!  CSCC has elected to change their in-person course format (this does NOT impact the classes taught at WKHS) to be shorter 8-week sessions.  Most students on their campus will take fewer classes at a time and the classes will be finished in 8 weeks instead of 16 weeks.  This could be a significant challenge for high school students who were just planning on taking 1 class on campus during the semester... because now you will be doing the same amount of work in half the time.  So, if you were one of my students looking at taking CSCC classes on campus, you need to check your CSCC email and talk about your options and plans with your parents to make sure you will be able to handle the intensity and rigor of that double-paced class.  Feel free to reach out to me or the the CSCC Academic Advisors on campus if you have questions about this option.